Heartbeat
by Sheblet
Summary: "Katara looked at Toph's dirty feet. Feet that would never feel the heartbeat of the earth again, because the owner of the feet no longer had a heartbeat of her own." sisterly KaToph oneshot.


**A/N: I've decided to try my hand at Avatar: the Last Airbender fanfiction. I always liked the idea of Katara/Toph sisterly love, so I thought I'd write about it. Plus I felt like writing something sad. Enjoy.**

**Heartbeat**

Katara had never been more scared in her life.

It was the final battle in the war against Ozai, and things had been going pretty well for a while. They'd seemed to have the upper hand. But then, suddenly, droves of Fire Nation soldiers seemed to appear from thin air, charging at their enemies with swords and fire.

Toph had been right next to her a moment ago. Where had she gone? Katara looked around frantically, trying to find the tiny earthbender in all the violence and commotion.

That was when she saw it. A clump of green, a different shade than the grass surrounding it, laying forgotten at the bottom of a hill.

_Oh, please, no._

Katara ran towards the hill, fear making her heart go cold as her suspicion was confirmed.

Toph lay on the grass with an arrow protruding from her stomach. The amount of blood told Katara that a vital organ must have been hit, and that terrified her even more.

"Toph?" Katara placed a trembling hand on the side of the girl's unusually pale face. "Can you hear me?"

Toph's eyes slid open and she grinned weakly. "I'm blind, not deaf, Sugar Queen. It's about time you got here."

Katara let out a sigh of relief and coaxed the water from the skin at her side. It hovered beside her hand, waiting for her next command. "Hold still. I'm going to fix you up."

"Go for it," Toph replied. Katara placed the water over the wound with one hand, and grabbed the shaft of the arrow with the other. "This might hurt."

"Yea, sure. Just do it real fast, like ripping off a bandage or whatever."

Katara pulled, and Toph grunted, her fists clenching. "Hold on, it's almost out," Katara soothed.

Once the arrow was out, Katara threw it to the side. She felt sick when she noticed the blood on her hand.

_Oh, spirits, don't let me be too late._

"All right, it's out."

"No kidding."

Katara worked while the battle raged on behind her. She methodically ran the water over the wound, hoping her healing ability would be enough to save the young girl.

"Katara?" Toph suddenly slurred. Katara didn't like the way she sounded, or looked. There were beads of sweat on her brow and her face was pale and tired looking.

"What is it?" Katara asked distractedly.

"I can't see you. Everything's all fuzzy."

Katara was about to say, of course you can't see me, you're blind, but then she realized what Toph meant.

Oh.

_Oh._

Katara looked at the girl's feet. Her knees were bent so that each foot was planted firmly on the ground. Toph tapped the ground a few times with one foot. Her palm was also placed flat on the earth as she struggled to find vibrations.

But she found none.

And that was when Katara knew that she was too late.

Toph seemed to know it, too. She reached out blindly in the air, searching for a hand to hold. Katara gave her one, gripping the small, white hand in her own.

"It's going to be okay," the older girl insisted.

Toph snorted, and it turned into a coughing fit. "I know I call you Sugar Queen and all that, but no need to sugar coat it, Sweetness. I know what happens next."

Though she tried to be nonchalant about it, Katara could see the fear in her eyes. Toph was fading, her breathing becoming ragged, and though she wouldn't admit it, she was afraid to die.

"Shh, you're okay," Katara instinctively comforted, but this time Toph said nothing. Her feet were kicking out weakly, and she squeezed her eyes shut.

Katara felt the tears before she even realized she was crying. Toph was only twelve, for goodness sake! She was practically a baby! She didn't deserve to die.

"I bet," Katara started, and her voice hitched, so she swallowed and tried again. "I bet you in the spirit world you'll get to see… you know, with your eyes."

Toph just grunted in response.

"I bet you'll get to see colors and a sunset. I bet you'll get to see how pretty you are."

Toph's hand was gripping hers tightly now. "Will I get to see how… pretty… _you_ are?" she choked out. There was no sarcasm in her voice, none of the brashness that Katara had grown accustomed to.

"Maybe," Katara said, and brought Toph's hand to her face so she could feel the smile painted there. Toph tried to smile back, and her lips twitched violently with the effort

"I love you, Little Sister," Katara impusively declared, smoothing the hair from the younger girl's forehead.

"You're not so bad yourself… Sugar Queen."

Toph's body shuddered violently, then suddenly became very still. Her hand went limp. Katara stared for several seconds, trying to understand what was happening.

Then, she let out a cry of horror.

"Katara!" she heard her brother's voice. "He did it, Katara! Aang defeated Ozai! He used this crazy spirit power and was all _woosh _and took away the guy's bending – what's going on?"

His voice had become deadly serious upon seeing Toph. "Is she okay?"

Katara turned to look at him, and when he saw the anguish in her eyes and knew immediately what was happening. "Oh, no. No way…" he muttered.

Katara looked at Toph's dirty feet. Feet that would never feel the heartbeat of the earth again, because the owner of the feet no longer had a heartbeat of her own.


End file.
